The Inside Track | MORNING BRIEFING

Without Power, You Can't See the Glory

The failure of a regulator supplying power to its production truck caused ABC to miss the final two minutes of UCLA's loss to Colorado on Saturday.

A similar thing happened to Channel 9 on Jan. 24, 2000, when there was a power failure in the television complex at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

The Lakers were on their way to losing to Utah in double overtime when, with six seconds left in regulation and the score tied, 81-81, the screen went blank.

Technicians scrambled to at least get the audio portion on the air by using a phone line. That didn't work too well. Viewers were soon hearing: "If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again."

Trivia time: Oklahoma set an NCAA Division I football record by winning 47 games in a row from 1953 to '57. Which school beat them to end the streak?

He's in their prayers: Tom Joyce delivers an entertaining invocation in rhymes at Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheons. The invocation he delivered Friday had this passage:

"It appears Rex Hudler won't be our broadcaster of the year;

"Someone should convince him to switch from grass to beer."

Jet blasting: A headline in the New York Post after the New York Jets' 16-13 loss to the Washington Redskins on Thursday:

"A NO-VIN SITUATION"

Familiar target: In Sunday's Post, letter writers were singling out Jet offensive coordinator Paul Hackett for the poor showing by the offense.

"No one can design a seven-yard, third-down-and-eight pass play better than Hackett, and no one can execute it better than Vinny Testaverde," said one.

Wasn't it USC fans writing these kind of letters just a few years ago?

Dodgers the target here: In a special he wrote for the Boston Globe on the Red Sox and their loyal fans, David Halberstam wonders why there are so many reports that shortstop Nomar Garciaparra is unhappy and wants to go to the Dodgers.

Tight end Shannon Sharpe isn't sure. Last week, Sharpe told Denver writers: "I think [Coach] Mike [Shanahan] and the organization have put a lot of eggs in his basket. We just hope he doesn't trip on his way to the market."

Trivia answer: Notre Dame beat Oklahoma, 7-0.

And finally: When Phil Mickelson was trying to convince the Toledo Mud Hens that he could pitch in the minors, fellow golfer Paul Azinger said: "He'll probably be effective because those guys haven't seen a 68-mph fastball since Little League."

The Mud Hens, who decided against signing Mickelson, are a farm club of the Detroit Tigers.